Kicking Up Sand

Kicking Up Sand
Date of Scene:	27 September 2012
Location:	Costa Del Sol
Synopsis:	A balmy day on Costa Del Sol greets visitors still new to this world, but not everyone is seeking shelter from the violence. The bathing beauties are unexpectedly bloodthirsty, and refreshing fruit beverages are forsaken in favor of some beachside sparring -- and only the men end in compromising positions.
Cast of Characters:	Ivo Galvan, Raiya Fujihara, Jack Skellington, Sabin Rene Figaro, Tifa Lockhart, Nagetta, Quistis Trepe, Sarafina Carenze, Avira

---

Ivo Galvan has posed:
This is even better than he anticipated.

Ivo, having doffed his signature cloak in deference to the climate, leans back in his chair by the boardwalk, gazing out at the sparkling sea. Taking a sip of some refreshing and not overly sweet fruity concoction he had heard some good rumors about, nodding in satisfaction, the young swordsman smiles easily, his calm blue eyes surveying yet another new city from yet another different world.

However he might joke occasionally about the burden of caring for two hapless teens, Reize and Lily are more than responsibilities to him. Standing on the deck of the merchant vessel that took them from Luca to Costa del Sol, he couldn't help but look with warmth and affection at the effectively newborn girl's awe at the vastness of the ocean, the tang of the air, the rippling of the sails. (Plus, when that group of sahagin showed up, she blew them up pretty good.) In his previous world, he had known good people, wise people, memorable folk of great character--

"...Ahh."

But he had never known peace.

Sighing softly with contentment, secure in the knowledge that Lily is now resting in the inn down the street, Ivo takes another sip, his information gathering done for today. Soon he'll work toward gathering supplies and preparing for the hazardous trek across the desert. But for now--

He'll relax, if only for a few moments more.

Sabin Rene Figaro has posed:
Costa Del Sol is a bright and cheerful place, a tourist trap that sees a lot of people moving in and out. It is the perfect sort of place that one would, for example, continue the search for one's twin brother, particularly if one's twin brother had a predilection toward macking on beautiful, possibly half-naked women.

It is also, however, expensive as all get out for the adventurer on a budget.

A large hobo sits under one of the palm trees on the beach, his body covered by a large green hooded cloak that is blocking some of the sun. He has been sitting there for a few hours, and while word has gotten around by now, the size of the man (large) has been sufficient deterrent for most. He shifts position occasionally to adjust the placement of the two wooden signs he has pounded into the sand in front of him before settling back against the tree.

The first sign reads 'HAVE YOU SEEN THIS MAN' and features a childlike stick-figure drawing of a man with a spear in one hand and some sort of machinegun or maybe crossbow in the other. The second sign reads 'WILL PUNCH YOU IN THE FACE FOR GIL AND/OR FOOD.' Business, it seems, has been slow.

The man shifts position again and stares up at the sun, the movement revealing a fragment of his face - a broad, strong jaw and a few wisps of short blond hair. He smiles faintly. If not for the water...this place would remind him of home.

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Over at the harbor, the sound of a boat is heard arriving into port. On it, the Seventh Heaven barmaid. Not quite travelling in style, but its no big deal. She's taking in the sights, and learning about the new world, while making a stop at most shops she finds for more things to add to the bar, wether its more drinks, decoration, tools or acessories of all kinds. There's also the... bit more dubious wares, for the fellow bombmakers at Avalanche, but those are more subtly hidden out of sight under the rest of the things she buys.

Regardless, that's not an issue right now since she's empty-handed, the only place she saw was Junon... and its not a terribly great place fors hopping either, considering its so military based. Debarking empty-handed from the boat, she takes a stroll toward the main part of the beach-side village. This place is much more tourist friendly at least, should have a few decent shops. It even has a bar too.

... She should probably find a swimsuit too while here, its rather cold in Midgar, but never know. Although she is dressed relatively lightly to start with, its not so good for tanning. She pokes at her white belly showing under the tanktop. Maybe she could use a bit of that.

Raiya Fujihara has posed:
The life of a wandering swordswoman can be quite unpredictable. One may never know quite where they will end up next. And of all places, Raiya Fujihara has found herself in the ShinRa hotbed of Costa Del Sol. Maybe she was looking for a fight or maybe she was trying to find somewhere, anywhere that she could book passage into Wutai which was quite a difficult proposition these days. There had to be a daring airship pilot or two who was willing to take such a risk.

And so, Raiya in her purple and black kimono trudges her way down the main street of the vacation spot. She has done some alterations to make her outfit more bearable in this heat, but it still is not helping very much. The samurai has hiked up and tied off her kimono higher which gives her legs some breathing room and she does not have her kimono fastened together as tightly as she normally does. Her sarashi style wrappings are even visible here and there underneath her kimono. Thankfully, she still has that straw circular hat of hers which does its job in keeping the sun out of the blonde woman's face. A small but needed respite from her present conditions.

Driven by a need to quench her thirst, Raiya wanders closer and closer to where Ivo is currently lounging. She passes the cloaked hobo and warily glances in his direction. The signs placed in the ground draw a small smile from the woman. At least the poor wastrels of this town are in good spirits. But speaking of spirits, the samurai is in search of some. She ventures closer towards Ivo and eventually recognizes who he is even though she had been drawn closer by the colorful drink in the Knight's hands.

The blonde swordswoman takes a moment to collect herself before approaching Ivo with a smile. "Greetings, Ivo." She begins with a polite nod of her hatted head towards him. "What great luck we have to run into each other here, of all places. The fates can indeed be kind." Ivo's drink gets another glance."I must ask a question. What sort of manner of drink is that? It looks quite...appetizing."

Sarafina Carenze has posed:
Sarafina is not a hobo. She is, however, not wearing heavy armor on a freaking beach. She is dressed lightly in Amano-style clothes rather than as swimsuit as the last thing she wants to do is actually go in the water.

Sabin will find a hot dog (with ketchup and mustard plastered on it, and some kind of relish) held out for him. Just ONE hotdog. "Did you run out of that money already?" Sarafina is asking, smiling faintly. She has grown rather fond of Sabin. Not very often she meets someone who can beat her in an arm wrestling match.

Avira has posed:
Costa Del Sol is a tourist trap indeed and here, Avira is every bit a tourist. Tragically, she has never visited a proper beach before. She knows plent about them and all the wonderful things that go on there, though. However, as her situation currently stands, she is extremely underequipped to correctly enjoy a beach. Though she has no swimsuit, her clothes are meant for those who spend long hours out in the Dalamascan sun so they're already showing off a good bit of skin anyway. Somewhere along the way she did manage to pick up a cheap pair of flip-flops to replace her usual leather boots with though.

She had hoped to score a cheap pair of sunglasses to go with those but her current low funds turned it into a decision between sunglasses and frozen drinks. Judging by the tall and tropical-smelling beverage clutched firmly in her hand, it's easy to tell which one of these things won out.

Content for the first time in the past week-plus-change, she strolls onto the sandy expanse, slipping off her flip flops as the sand becomes firmer and she draws closer to the water. Her gait is steady-it's still her first drink, after all, and becoming intoxicated at a time like this would no doubt be expressly stupid. Her eyes roam over the others here, eagerly searching for the shirtless eye candy beaches are supposed to have, only to be shocked to find at least one person here has dropped in garbed in a huge green hooded cloak. Frowning, she wanders over to this mysterious figure and pauses, looking first at the signs, then up at him.

"...is that..." she gestures at the punching one, "...is that real?" There's a cautious air to her question, as if she half expects this to be some kind of elaborate mugging scheme.

Quistis Trepe has posed:

Quistis Trepe had said just the other day that she really ought to get out there and go exploring. She even had a discretionary budget for it. After landing in Costa del Sol she had split off, already sweating into her light but still woolen Fighty Adventure Uniform, to locate native attire, and...

other stuff.

Now wearing a salmon-pink sling bikini, a straw hat, and sunglasses, together with flip flops, Quistis is standing in front of a souvenier stand. Having selected several out already, she asks aloud, "Excuse me, Mr. Sabin, what do you -"

Her head turns slightly towards the distinct absence of towering muscleman. She frowns slightly. "When did he...?"

Sabin Rene Figaro has posed:
About fifteen minutes ago. He saw some kids kicking a ball.

Sabin's stomach growls as the hot dog hovers in front of his face, and he offers Sarafina a quick grin as he takes the proffered food. "I could punch you in the face," he says in the same tone that other people might say 'I could kiss you,' and then he begins absolutely demolishing the hot dog, meat and bun and condiment vanishing in flashing teeth. He licks his fingers clean and then wipes them on his cloak. "Aah," he sighs politely. "Well, I had to use it to print up these posters and put 'em up everywhere. And then to buy the ticket out with Miss Trepe. Don't have enough to get back, though, I..." The big man blinks. "Huh," he says. "Where did she go?"

His question evaporates almost immediately from his mind, however, as Avira approaches. Sabin's face brightens. Ah! A customer. "Sure is!" he says brightly. "I will gladly fight you for money. You'll get the chance to test your skills against me. It's a pretty good deal," Sabin asides conversationally to Sarafina. "Pretty popular in the cities, especially with the Street Fi---"

An Elfland lawninja edges out from behind a nearby building. His eyes narrow.

Sabin sighs. "The 'world warrior' crowd," he corrects himself, making the finger quotes. The lawninja slips back behind cover, and Sabin rises up to his full six feet and a couple inchest, his cloak flaring as he slams a meaty fist into an open palm, the sound rather like a pair of cows colliding at high speed. "So, you up for it?" he asks. "Act quick - it isn't too often you'll get the chance to test yourself against---"

Hey look Tifa is walking by.

"---the disciple of---"

Yup, sure is walking by.

"---/the greatest martial artist in the world./"

Oh no he didn't.

Ivo Galvan has posed:
Why, this is indeed fortuitous.

"Raiya? What a pleasant surprise." Ivo looks up, shielding his blue eyes from the sun, lacking the lady samurai's formidable headgear, breaking into a broad smile. "I see that buying you a drink was not only a promise, but my destiny." In an even better mood than usual, the mirthful swordsman-aesthete glances down at his own beverage, quirking an eyebrow. "I'm told the recipe is a trade secret," he intones with mock gravity, "but I'm also told it's arguably the best drink in town." He looks back up, still smiling. "Quizzing the locals on that topic was a great conversation starter."

Yeah, he literally just spent the last hour or so asking everyone he met what the best drink in town was. Now that's dedication -- or, uh, it's something, anyway.

"Well, there's fruit in it," he declares confidently, "with enough acidity to avoid saccharine sweetness -- and a bit of a kick, aheh." He raises his glass to Raiya, proffering it. "Why not take a sip? If you like it, the next one is yours." Though playful thus far, the knight-errant's smile softens then, his eyes briefly growing serious. "I still owe you for protecting Reize, Lily, and me."

...and maybe he should apologize for kicking off her in the Coliseum.

Well, let's wait and see if she's forgotten about that.

Now that a crowd has begun to gather, Ivo's noticed the man in the green hooded cloak -- /that/ looks interesting -- but he can't make out the signs from here. Smiling with a vague curiosity, he keeps his eyes on those shenanigans farther down the beach, but for now he's silent. Though if there happens to be some sort of trouble--

Well, he has a delicious drink to offer everyone.

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Don't easily take up to taunts. If it was one at least. She was looking around as she was walking past the others, thinking about where to stop at first. She does hear Sabin's words though, and turns her head as she stops, wondering about that "Were you a disciple of Zangan too?" Not like she knows many martial art masters either. She just asks the question like that, from where she is, not even pushing through the small gathering either. She does take a step closer though, hands in her back.

Anyone with the sense of sight would be able to tell she has some training at least, but at what level, that's another. And that's if people can look over the other immediately obvious attributes of the barmaid too.

Avira has posed:
The one hand Avira has that is not firmly clutching a drink raises quickly. She waves it about in front of her in a panicky manner-oh hell, this guy was eager. And SERIOUS. "Oh, whoah whoah whoah, I didn't know it was a martial arts contest thing. Uh-"

Avira looks up at this guy stands and reveals he has well over a solid foot of height on her. Oh crap oh crap. That fist of his would /decimate/ her skull. Her defensive handwaving increases in tempo. "I don't know any martial arts! Sorry, I wouldn't be much of a challenge for you at all. Ahaha heh...heh..."

Her shoulders slump a little. "...heh." Fortunately, Tifa speaks up and Avira jumps on this distraction from her embarassment and sidesteps out of the way.

Sarafina Carenze has posed:
Sarafina opens her mouth. Sarafina closes her mouth. In the middle of that, Sabin consumed a hot dog. Sarafina can tell that Sabin will never be an accountant though these Elfland lawninjas must be deadly if Sabin is worried about drawing their ire. Sarafina decides to be wary of them too. Not wanting to drive away Sabin's business, she doesn't say 'it's your funeral' or anything, but she does give Quistis a glance that says it--through the power of WOMANLY EYE CONTACT.

Though it seems like Sabin might have some business anyhow when another martial artist reveals themselves. She glances to Tifa. She doesn't look like she could suplex a train, but you never know--appearances can be deceiving.

"Though there are multiple worlds, so with that thinking--there can be multiple greatest martial artists of the world." Sarafina uses the power of QUICK THINKING. Will they still kill each other?!

Quistis Trepe has posed:

Quistis starts sauntering towards the beach, which seems to be the logical place to go. Also, she saw that law-ninja get moving, and as such, she suspects where he goes, Sabin will soon be found. As she comes round a corner, she is met with - Womanly Eye Contact?

She sends a momentary signal back, though Sarafina may not get it, because she was looking over the rims of a new pair of prescription sunglasses she found. Walking down the steps towards the beach, she frowns slightly when Tifa Lockhart crosses her field of vision, but clears her throat to speak in her best Teacher Voice over people's heads.

"But logically... There can only be one of them, who is the strongest. At best, there will be a practical stalemate between two of them. And they'll soon be trying to break the loggerhead."

Down fully to the beach. Pausing near Avira, she asks, "Where did you get that drink?"

Sabin Rene Figaro has posed:
Sabin turns and stares at Tifa. Not Tifa's chest, which is a small miracle in and of itself due to the pernicious influence of gravity, but Tifa. His first reaction is to frown. He opens his mouth, and then Sarafina speaks. He finds himself nodding - it's true, there certainly could be - but then turns as Quistis approaches, and finds himself nodding once more. After all, if both of them are here in this world, and both of them disciples in the best of their worlds...then there can only be one best of the best worlds....right?

"/.../"

The big man rubs his head and grumbles. This is too much like logic for him, and so he reaches to his neck, pulling off his cloak and tossing it away into the air, revealing his massively muscled body. "I've never heard of Master Zangan," he says politely, "But I'm afraid I meant what I said. I am the disciple of Duncan Harcourt," Sabin says, his shoulders and arms swelling as his hands slowly clench into fists. "And I would be proud to show you my resolve."

He pauses. And then looks at the sign.

"Uh...for however much a ticket back to Balamb Garden is," he adds. "If you want. Maybe."

Raiya Fujihara has posed:
Raiya gently pushes the brim of her hat up a bit to reveal the full extent of her happy grin. It is good to see familiar faces in unfamiliar lands. There really can be no greater joy for a traveller than to do just that. The details divulged about this decadent drink of dreams causes Raiya's grin to get just a smidge bit wider. That libation sounds perfectly like what she needs right now.

And it seems that Ivo is able to read her mind as he soon offers the drink to the parched practicioner of the sword. The accidental reference to the incident in the Colisseum causes the samurai to quirk a brow. She has not quite forgotten that. However, the woman does have her priorities at the moment. With a grateful nod of her head, she accepts the offered drink and partakes in a drink from it. Delicious. "Yes. There is....a bit of a kick to it," states the samurai with a knowing smile.

The growing crowd that Ivo turns to look at causes Raiya to look that way as well. My, my. This place certainly seems quite busy. Tifa in particular gets a lingering look. Could that be? She has yet to come into direct contact with too many other members of AVALANCHE yet. This would be quite the auspicious day indeed if Tifa ends up being who Raiya thinks she is.

The blonde woman in the kimono shows restraint though. There would be no easy way for her to display her allegiance to AVALANCHE without drawing too much attention to herself. Hmmm. What to do? Is there going to be a confrontation over there? It is hard to suss this out by body language alone. "A duel? I have not seen a random duel break out in quite some day. This may be a lucky day indeed." A pause. "Perhaps we should join the growing crowd, Ivo. It would be a shame to miss something truly spectacular."

Sarafina Carenze has posed:
"Quistis..." Sarafina says with a shrug of her shoulders. "Alright, as logn as it remains friendly, but don't forget the heat of the day, it would be hard to fight at one's best in such a climate."

Of course Tifa hasn't actually said anything about dueling but she imagines it's inevitable.

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart rolls her eyes a bit. She's not terribly irrated at the assumption either way. There might be lots of martial arts masters after all. But she considers the words anyway, and the comments around the small group as well, those reddish eyes taking in turn Quistis and Sarafina as they speak up "I don't think it really matters how strong the masters are. If the students eventually surpass their masters, doesn't that mean they are stronger than the master anyway? Plus you can learn from a strong master, it doesn't mean you're automatically strong because of it."

She considers a bit more, a hand under her chin "Plus martial arts should be more about discipline than simple show of strength. My master had over 130 disciples around the world." she smiles "Plus my master never called himself the strongest, but people did refer to him as a 'martial arts god', mostly because of the amount of people he taught and how much he knew about martial arts."

She doesn't seem ready to fight though, but she hms "If you need a ride back to Balamb, I can help with that. I'm here for a spot of shopping, I'll be heading back in that direction later."

Avira has posed:
Inwardly, Avira is very thankful that this big blonde guy is easily distracted. Calming down quickly, she watches the exchange between the two martial artists, already assuming that /this/ is the confrontation that will lead to proper facepunchings. This is okay. Avira is very okay with her face not being punched right now.

Now that Sabin has finally ditched the cloak, Avira's also happy she got /some/ of what she came here looking for-in fact, she even manages a smile at this point, her previous embarassing bout completely put from her mind.

She seems a little startled when she realizes that Quistis asked her about her drink. "This? Place with the brown grass roof. Over there." Avira gestures towards a tiki bar back towards the stores. It has a bit of a crowd around it and nowhere to actually sit. "It's good stuff."

Quistis Trepe has posed:

Quistis draws up not far from Sarafina, still holding a shopping bag. "... Is the sun bothering you?" she asks her in passing, recalling dimly something about gargoyles turning into stone in the sun. This is clearly not entirely true, although, she reasons, she might be some kind of a hybrid, or else be wearing sunscreen.

She then adjusts her glasses. "... I believe she's declining your challenge, Mr. Sabin." She sounds disapproving.

Then she looks at Avira for a moment. "Oh, wonderful. Could I ask you to get me one? I don't want to miss a moment of this. Of course, I'll cover another for you, for your trouble. Do they have them with lime and starfruit?"

Sabin Rene Figaro has posed:
Sabin Rene Figaro is a prince of the blood, the scion of a lineage of kings tracing back dozens of generations. His line has managed to lead their people through countless conflicts, building a flourishing kingdom of peerless technology out of the depths of an unforgiving desert. From the moment he was old enough to form words, Sabin was educated alongside his brother in a standard far beyond that of the people of his kingdom and world, befitting a potential heir of the kingdom, with the finest of tutors made available to him in fields such as natural history, language, courtly manner, diplomacy, law. It is a standard that has made the Kingdom of Figaro a power capable of withstanding the Empire.

He stares down at Tifa, looking confused. "So...we aren't fighting?" he asks, looking around. "But...why?"

Royalty, everyone.

Ivo Galvan has posed:
Peace! What about the peace!? Love and peace! Love and--

Ivo, in the middle of signalling down the waitress more or less pre-emptively, discerning just from Raiya's grin that this is exactly what the doctor ordered, glances back over at the crowd gathered around Tifa and Sabin and flinches visibly. A duel on the beach, here and now? Under certain circumstances he'd of course be interested -- especially given the combatants, as the man is built like a bear and there seems to be more than meets the eye about that woman, just from her composure alone -- but now is not the time.

"Yes," he murmurs to Raiya, rising from his seat as he flashes the lady samurai a slightly more serious smile than usual, "I was just about to head over there myself."

Ironically, perhaps, had he been just a little bit quicker, he would have caught Tifa's demurral. When he makes his way to the beach, though, all he can see is the body language of the people involved, and it looks to him like two potential competitors and some interested spectators.

"Ladies, gentlemen, please," the young gallant says as charmingly as possible, offering his second-best smile as he interjects himself into the little crowd. "Are there not so few places of tranquility remaining in these days of chaos? Why don't we relax for now and save the sparring for later?" He looks over at Sabin, grinning, looking more intrigued than disapproving. "I can't buy you a ticket, but why don't I buy you a drink? I'm Ivo, Ivo Galvan, swordsman of the Shard Seekers, in pursuit of the fragments of lost worlds." He looks back at everyone, spreading his hands. "In such an endeavor, the more friends the better..."

Then he sees Avira's drink, in which Quistis has taken interest. "Oh, I see you've found the /second/-best drink in town," he says lightly, before grinning again. "No, I heard they're good too. But--" Turning, and pointing back at where he was just sitting. "--their selection is superb, and... there's table seating."

Ugh, this is going to hurt his purse a little, but thanks to Zeke, he can handle it. Besides-- look at all these strangers to talk up. Totally worth it.

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart has a bit of a case of 'anime sweatdrop' here at Sabin's reaction "... Are you looking for a fight, or money to get back to Balamb. I offered to help without a fight, but you still want to fight, for the sake of fighting?" she scratches her cheek a bit, not sure she follows this 'royal' way of thinking either. "If you want a spar to see if you're as strong as you think you are, you don't have to attach money to it." she looks at the sign with a lifted eyebrow as she notices it "... even less asking people to pay you to punch them." she's getting more confused by the second here.

Avira has posed:
Now lately unusual things haven't managed to turn Avira's head very much...but once she gets a closer look at Sarafina's wings and sees that they have eyeballs on them, she actually double takes. The surprise on her face only lasts for a few seconds since by now she's learned that staring at people for too long will land you in hot water in these parts.

"I dunno, seems like there might not be anything to miss if they're not gonna fight." Avira says sadly, actually stalling and weighing the options of really complying with Quistis's request. She was low on funds and another drink would be /awesome/. "Sure, I can do that. I don't know about the starfruit though, I wasn't really looking for it when I ordered. Lime definitely."

Then this other guy-Ivo, he introduces himself, waltzes over and deems her drink the second-best in town. "So you say. I think I'd have to try one of their drinks first before I agree with you." Defiantly, Avira takes another sip, then looks at Quistis, giving her the chance to change her mind about that whole drink thing.

Sarafina Carenze has posed:
Sarafina Carenze continues to be oblivious to the existence of gargoyles and Quistis's view that she is one.

"It's a bit hot." Sarafina admits. "Normally I wear a lot more than this." A lot more--sunscreen?!?!?!?!?!?

She rubs at her face as Sabin of the Royal Heritage--she is oblivious to this aspect of Sabin and would be rather surprised to hear that it is the case--continues pressuring the matter. She has no objection either way. It's a spar, not violence as it is typically understood.

"Do not worry about it. Such matters are between them." She says, looking the man over.

The what now?

Oh.

"A noble endeavour, but--" Such a sudden introduction...

The eyes look at Avira.

Quistis Trepe has posed:

Quistis, the product of a program to create teenage supersoldiers, frowns slightly when some guy with a sword rolls up in a promising public sparring match and starts talking about himself.

She adjusts her glasses for a moment, before she lowers her voice when Ivo's attention turns towards her. Her voice is as chilly as the drink in question, even as she puts a hand on one nearly-bare hip, fingernails tapping along her toned, light flesh as she regards Ivo as if she just stepped in him. Despite this, her tone is polite, even if the breaths are making the bikini rise and fall.

"Leading into a conversation with a negative remark... That's not the best way to make a first impression, is it, Ivo Galvan, swordsman of the Shard Seekers?" Her lips purse outwards slightly. "I can assure you..." Her arms come up, folding underneath the salmon-pink bikinitop, "That I'm perfectly comfortable where I am."

She reaches into her adventurous fannypack, whereupon Ivo could see the /giant bullwhip/ inside of it, and digs out sufficient munnies to cover two drinks and a modest tip, which is surrendered into Avira. "Just do what you can. Ask them to make it strong, though."

Then she steps forwards a pace, towards Tifa and Sabin. Her hands clasp before her, even as she just goes on past Ivo. Putting a hand on her hip again, she gestures with the other. "Excuse me - Ma'am. I thought I might explain this, since I think you're dealing with different customs. It's a problem we'll all have to deal with."

Her hand snaps upwards, pointing in an excessively languid way towards Sabin, and also ending up like 3 inches in front of Ivo's face. "Mr. Sabin is challenging you to an exhibition spar. The ticket price is meant to put some - to use an old Dollet analogy, 'put some skin in the game.' A small sum of money means that he's got something to fight for... and so do you."

Her hand comes up, adjusting her glasses, as she regards Tifa more directly now, straightening up. "... Does that clarify things, ma'am? I'm looking forward to seeing your skills."

Sabin Rene Figaro has posed:
"Well, yeah," Sabin says, "I appreciate the offer, it's just...I...do you know how many people /need/ what I'm selling? It...I..." He frowns. Now that he thinks about it, maybe people would be more willing to pay to punch /other people/ in the face. Huh, maybe this was a stupid idea after all.

Ivo steps up, and the big man looks even more confused as the swordsman starts using all kinds of big and flowery words, like the courtiers back home. THe thought brings a faint frown to the face of the large blond, and he folds his arms over his massive barrel chest. "Sabin," he introduces himself succinctly. "If you don't mind though, guy, I'm trying to have a conversation with this nice young lady here." Guilt flickers across his eyes as he recalls his royal manners, though, and he sighs. "Perhaps after, though," he suggests.

And then he turns back to Tifa, looking a little desperate as he struggles to grasp how best to explain things. But then, thankfully, Quistis does it for him, and his face brightens as clarity is injected into the situation. "Thanks, Miss Trepe," he says, clapping her on the shoulder. "I was having trouble making the words come out good." The big man stands up, shoulders square. "Okay then! I'll do what Miss Trepe said, then, and---"

He reaches down for his pants and pulls. There is a tearing sound. In the distance, an elephant trumpets as the sun flares off the water.

Sabin Rene Figaro, wearing the world's second-most-strained pair of speedos, spreads his arms wide. "/Okay/," he says happily. "NOW we got some skin in this game. Can we fight now, please?"

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart scratches her cheek a bit, pensively at Quistis "Well, what's in it for me then, that's what I wonder. He gets some money and I get to see how strong he is? Is that the bulk of it?" She shrugs her shoulders a bit, turning her eyes back to Sabin. She's not that keen on fighting for the sake of fighting, but if its considered as a training match, or a spar, that's not too terrible. She's had plenty of those with her master after all.

She tilts her head a bit at the mention of 'getting some skin on this game', and then GAHS as Sabin just rips off what little he had to start with "Okay okay, I'llg ive you a spar as long as I don't have to do the same thing he's doing!" @_@ What the hell is she getting into.

Raiya Fujihara has posed:
It seems that Tifa is not the only one the case of the sweatdrops. Ivo's grand display seems to be the source of all of this for Raiya. The young Knight certainly knows how to put on a show. Raiya herself lowers her hat slightly so that her eyes are once again concealed as she approaches. She was never one to approach large groups like this...well atleast not sober.

Now that she has reached the others, Raiya realizes that there are few more familiar faces in the crowd. Avira and Sarafina are both individuals that she has seen around before. It seems that the fates are being extra kind this day with reconnecting her with others.

"This kind knight seems to be in the charitable mood. It would be quite improper of us all to not accept such generosity," says the Lady Samurai with her head tilting up a little bit to reveal an easy smile. Hey, Ivo did offer free drinks after all. Quistis' remark draws a look from Raiya as this woman moves to further instigate a confrontation. Betting materials things on a duel between warriors? A barbarian practice if Raiya ever saw one. Tifa now gets a look from Raiya. "Warrior, there is no need to fight needlessly." A smile. "Especially when there are drinks being offered for no cost at all."

The blonde bulldozer of a man gets a glance from Raiya when he quickly...disrobes by ripping his own clothes off. What an odd place this is. Or perhaps it is the people here that make it so? But then Tifa....agrees to this bout. Raiya soon decides that it would be fruitless to attempt to broker peace at this point. She merely crosses her arms against herself and taps a finger against her chin in thought.

Ivo Galvan has posed:
Ivo, generally serious-minded despite his often jocular demeanor, is doing his best to come across as relaxed and easygoing -- which is what he would normally be, if he weren't actually a little worried that people might start fighting on the beach. Ironically, far from being concerned with public order in general, he just doesn't want the balmy tone of his day to be ruined by a sudden shattering of the peace. Under normal circumstances, he'd probably delight in such transgression -- as long as, you know, it was more or less harmless.

Still, it's difficult not to sound smarmy when you're forcing your way into the conversation and offering to buy everyone drinks to get them to calm down, but Ivo tries valiantly, and not without success. "Then why not try one on me?" is his immediate reply to Avira, grinning back at her, not at all fazed by her suspicion. "Not that there's any hurry. And you were...?"

It does at least speak to Ivo's social gumption that he doesn't even bat an eye at Sarafina's wings, smoothing shifting his easy grin over to her. Man, these women seem kind of grim! Isn't this a beach? "Between them and those with whom they share the beach, I suspect," he reminds her gently, not intending to sound as though he's contradicting her. Aren't there, like, kids around? "Why don't you join my friend Raiya and I as well, Miss...?" And they're not very forthcoming with their names.

And-- wow.

Here he thought the /other/ girls were tough.

Needless to say--

"An astute observation!"

--if Quistis is trying to get rid of Ivo, it completely backfires.

"Then you must have also discerned," he continues to Quistis, still with his relaxed tone of voice, "that avoiding a fight on this beach was more important to me than making a good first impression." His gaze, now infinitely more interested than before, never flickers from her eyes. Not because he doesn't want to look at her bikini-clad form -- obviously he does -- but because he can't cede any ground in a clash like this. "Formidable woman that you are, surely you're aware of this world's state of affairs. Could it not be the case that the denizens of this city have sought refuge from violence here?"

Ugh, they're going to totally ruin his day! Adopting the moral high ground: definitely the best strategy.

Ivo flashes Raiya a relieved smile, clearly a little outnumbered here, but now, surprising himself, he inwardly finds himself actually getting a bit frustrated, which he carefully suppresses. "You're a gracious woman," he says to Tifa, whose attitude impresses him but who clearly seems like she's being coerced into this, "but Raiya is right. Why not relax with us before enjoying your shopping instead? You were...?" Man, he doesn't know anyone's name. ...Except Sabin. He seems cool. If a little-- single-minded.

"Everyone, please."

At last, Ivo is no longer smiling.

"There are children here."

I mean... it's a beach.

Sarafina Carenze has posed:
"Ah yes, they WOULD enjoy a show, wouldn't they?" Sarafina says.

She's from Baron. She doesn't seem to get what Ivo is getting at with all the references to 'kids'--indeed, she seems to be drawing the OPPOSITE conclusion.

Sarafina is from Baron. She turns her head to suggest, though, that there seem to be some who don't really want to--

--oh.

....Oh My.

"Ah--" she is at a loss for words.

Ivo Galvan has posed:
Then Sabin tears off his pants, and Ivo's impression of him immediately vaults from 'seems cool' to 'let's be best friends'.

Avira has posed:
THE EYES KNOW. Avira is /not/ pleased when she notices all of them looking at her. She was already a little self conscious with string bikini Quistis standing next to her. Nerve rising, she quickly speaks up, "Hey, your wings are staring at me, could you please stop that?"

Holding out her free hand, Avira accepts the munny in her open palm and peers down at it, pushing the coins aside with her pinky as she holds her drink up high. Counted out, she does a few calculations in her head, and divides out the tip ahead of time.

"Avira." she grins, seeing her bid to get a second free drink actually working. Yesss. "Anyway, hold that thought, I'll be right back." Pausing, she looks /beyond/ Ivo to the recently de-pantsed Sabin and openly stares for a long moment. A low whistle escapes her and she manages to down the rest of her drink in one go.

Tearing herself away from the impressively built Sabin, she rushes over to the tiki bar, hoping to get this business done quickly. Fifteen minutes pass.

Avira returns, baring two drinks and berfit of money. One of the drinks is offered to Quistis-the one that isn't already half gone, of course. "So they did have starfruit."

Sarafina Carenze has posed:
The eyes continue to stare at Avira, about one level more malevolently than before. Are they--narrowing?

"They're what?" Sarafina sounds horrified. "I will try, but I do not really know how to control them."

They continue staring.

Sabin Rene Figaro has posed:
What's her problem? Sabin wonders. A true martial artist is fully in touch with his or her body, and should be most comfortable when fighting unhindered by clothing of any kind. It's why this disciple of Zangan is wearing so little, isn't it? The big man frowns. Foreign people are so /weird/.

But then, finally, she agrees to the spar. Sabin's mouth splits into a broad grin, and he stretches his arms backward, rolling out his massive shoulders. "I know there are kids here," he says conversationally to Ivo. "I can feel their chi. Three over to my left, behind me a bit about eighty yards, kicking a ball around. Little girl at one of the stalls, thirty yards back, inching a bit closer. Another one up in one of the trees." Sabin offers Ivo a theatrical grin. "Don't worry, dude - this is just a spar. I'm gonna go easy." He sucks in a breath.

And then, suddenly, the world shivers.

The air around the big man is pressed outward, pushing against the crowd gathered around him, pushing up a short burst of sand, spattering against the onlookers, encouraging them to back away. Tifa will undoubtedly be able to sense it - the big man's chi, powerful but contained, rising up from within his body as he gears himself up for a fight. His hands close. Legs tense. And then, between one heartbeat and the next, he moves, pressing in close to Tifa Lockhart, looming over her like a vast, barely-contained beast. His left fist snaps out in a quick, probing jab. Another one comes shortly thereafter, followed up by a right straight. Nice and simple. Contained. Sabin smiles. And then the air is suddenly splintered by a hundred rapid cracks, the martial artist's fists blazing through the sky in a rush of punches that just never seems to end.

This, for the record, is apparently what qualifies as 'holding back.'

Quistis Trepe has posed:

It was only an analogy, but a fruitful one, Quistis thinks. Strips of clothing fly past her. She feels a warm flush of excitement come to her cheeks, and she smiles, uncharacteristically.

She then produces a whistle from her pocket, blowing into it with a single sharp tweet. "Forty-five seconds for warm-up! Organize yourselves for optimal viewing - smaller in front, crouch or sit if you can! Remember to permit at least eight paces' distance for sophisticated fighting techniques, lest you be kicked in the head!"

She asides to Tifa and Sabin, inexplicably - or perhaps quite so - "Just go ahead when you're ready. This isn't meant to delay things too much longer." AND THEN -

She turns her head away from Ivo, and then suddenly looks at him, her eyes gleaming --!! But no, it's just the sun on the shades, which she formally takes off. "Mr. Galvan, I feel you're implying that the denizens of the various worlds, particularly after the recent disasters, have become so incredibly traumatized that the sight of a formalized, refereed spar is going to cause them to melt into puddles of terror and suffering. With all due respect, I'm not sure who you're insulting more - our two sparring persons' ability to distinguish between an exhibition and a genuine ruthless battle, or the average person's ability to distinguish between the two."

She then raises a finger.

And waggles it at Ivo, who seems to be the source of all evil now. "And furthermore, I can assure you, despite my lack of an exotic introduction, I'm entirely capable of containing any untoward behavior on the part of either /or both/ of them. And furthermore -"

The crisp, bossy tirade continues basically forever along this theme. Mysteriously, it stops when the drink arrives for Quistis. She lifts it up to her mouth, catching the straw in her lips without breaking eye contact with Ivo, taking a long sip and exhaling afterwards, before concluding, "I trust I've made myself abundantly clear."

She then turns on her heel abruptly to face the fighters again. "Now then!"

Her voice deepens. "FI--." Blink blink, "As you were."

Nagetta has posed:
Nagetta's got some time to kill before the ship leaves again. She might as well check out the town as well. Of course the bright sunlight is making her squint, why did it have to be like this in some many places. Maybe the beach would help her cool off, it was certainly hot here today. She begins to make her way across the sand, her tail leaving a path showing where she had been. It sounded like there was fighting going on here, what had happened?

Ivo Galvan has posed:
Oh, Ivo.

You were not yet high enough level for this encounter.

The diplomatic abilities required to administer a lower-tier borough of the spiring city Cosmopolis pale in comparison to the overwhelming force of personality possessed by a SeeD instructor. As a matter of fact, though there's no way he can put two and two together under these circumstances, he has a mysterious flashback to that bright-eyed girl's eyepatch-wearing bodyguard -- who /was/ that man, anyway? -- in the moment that Quistis's glasses gleam. The young knight-errant attempted to put up a good fight, and Avira's positive response combined with Raiya's assistance gave him courage, but at the end of the day, he's the only one who doesn't want to see a fight go on.

Upon the cessation of Quistis's interminable lecture, Ivo is staring at her in what appears to be-- awe, more than anything, lips parted, dark hair somehow blown back. There's a little fear in there too, yes, but it's mostly awe.

Abundantly clear?

"I don't... even know your name," is all he can say.

W-wait, it's not over yet, even though near-naked Sabin is reassuring him and the fight has, uh, already begun? Hey, that's quite impressive. He's already forgetting his indignance in his interest to see the-- no! Don't fall for it, Ivo! Don't fall--

"Wai-- gahh--"

Appropriately enough, due to his discombobulation, as he hesitatingly attempts to step forward, the usually poised swordsman trips and falls on his hands and knees in the sand, blinking up in shock at the fight proceeding before him.

Then, finally, he sighs and just shrugs.

Sometimes, you just have to let the day go where it will.

Oho, nice punches!!

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart phews a bit. At least she doesn't have to strip. Well a fight shouldn't be too bad... She has a twil on herself, waving a hand to those that are going to seemingly be watching the right. "It'll be okay. By the way, I'm Tifa Lockhart, nice to meet you nonetheless~" She chimes cheerfully, despite everything. She has more self-control than Sabin has it seems, going for a few stretches only. She reaches her arms up over her head, a nice display of her lighter muscles and body tone. She's definitely not bulging like Sabin is either way, but is that really a true sign of one's power?

She steps back away while she holds one elbow behind her head, and then bends down to stretch her legs to the side. "We'll try to make this quick." Then she turns around to Sabin, her face losing most of her cheerfulness, instead going into a more serious mode, tightning her gloves over her hands, and then taking her fighting position, which looks alot like a boxer, with her hands held up at her shoulder's level.

Sarafina Carenze has posed:
"Quistis...weren't you a little hard on him?" Sarafina murmurs to her. "I'm sure he means well." Not that she disagrees with the instructor, but it looked like Ivo /shriveled/ before her. She supposes that one must make the situation clear at the onset.

"Well in any event. You want to make a bet?"

Quistis Trepe has posed:

Quistis lowers her bottom directly onto Ivo's back, crossing her legs and sipping her drink.

"No," she answers Sarafina.

Then, brightly, "Oh, certainly. How's fifty gil sound? Who do you favor?"

Avira has posed:
Avira seems a shade more distressed when she learns from Sarafina that she doesn't control those eyes. "B..but how, they're on your wings..." If anything, this makes her run off to get new drinks even FASTER. All the better, really, because there was a bit of a line to get those drinks which is why it took so darn long.

The fight is in full swing once Avira is back. "She has a point. Completely desensitized." she says to Ivo in a conversational tone. "Not after the plague of Heartless and world-ending."

She smiles a little, turning her eyes back to the fight, "...so I dunno about you, but this is a real nice break from all that." Avira is watching. Carefully. Very carefully. Especially Sabin and his intriguing...mastery over chi.

Sarafina Carenze has posed:
"I'll put 50 on the challenged." Sarafina nods to Tifa. A strange choice, considering she knows Sabin's strength full well--but she may not wish to be impolite to the challenged either, considering she knows Quistis knows Sabin's strength full well.

Also, she's concerned that Sabin's undergarment may not provide enough support, thus possibly crippling him over a longer encounter.

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
The first flurry of attacks is quite impressive, but Tifa has seen faster before. Although, imagine if one of those huge arms connected. Quite skillfully, the barmaid manages to duck, block, and roll out of the way of the punches quite elegantly too. What she doesn't have in power she has in grace it seems. Might just be something about being female too, who knows.

Being on the ground is her area of predilection as well, so she uses that to her advantage, sinking her feet in the ground as she rushes in for a combination of attacks of her own, charging up her energies before lunging it with a quick combination of punches and a sweeping low kick.

Jack Skellington has posed:
A change of pace. Yes, that's exactly what was needed.

The world about Halloween Town was wonderful, filled with life and unfamiliar scenery, all of it moving, which was normal, and once again alive, far from the ordinary. Things smelled different! The sounds of the world were far more than the sound of bats and bubbling ooze.

The change of pace being Jack Skellington didn't hide himself, neither did he scare anyone. No, that's a lie. He didn't intend to scare anyone. Large groups, always unfocused, were far too simple anyhow. A scream in the background, not particularly from Sabin's disrobing, comes from the harbor. But how would they intend one to travel, except on a ship?

"Payment? Why, I haven't a single idea, good sir what you're asking about!" Jack exclaims, a little black mage hat adorned over his head. It seems to be a scream of anger, his bony face covered in darkness, assisting his 'disguise'. "Such an idea... a payment for something for a service? How selfish." Jack exclaims, "You're quite a learner!" He beams. "Keep it up, I'm certain you'd cause someone to faint outright from your greed!" He gives the man a shake, causing the man's face to grow pale.

Sauntering about the fighting going on, eyes quite used to seeing in the darkness, Jack slowly but surely walks about, focused on the show of force in the middle. "How interesting... a fight in the middle of a city? i wonder what purpose this serves! Ohoho!"

The skeleton then bumps into Avira, "Oh, my pardon miss." The tall lanky 'Mage' exclaims, looking on to Sarafina's wings, "My, how gruesome! Eyes on the wings as well... How horrible. But no one has ran off screaming... How peculiar."

There's just so much wonderful things around!

Raiya Fujihara has posed:
Arms still crossed, Raiya focuses her attention on those gathered with interest. The hooded woman from the other day, the winged Captain from before then, this pair of fight loving blondes, Ivo, and finally the brunette that has been caught up in the middle of this all. But wait, the Naga from Luca has just arrived too. This latest arrival causes the swordswoman to turn and offer a friendly if not lazy wave towards her. They didn't get much time in Luca, but that is no reason to be rude.

The purple clad swordswoman turns back around to see that the fight has already started. They both have spirit, the veteran swordswoman will give them that. And even if they are 'holding back', it is quite easily seen that they are both strong fighters. Avira's comment causes her to focus on the Avira herself and the recently fallen Ivo. Ouch. Maybe those drinks were a little stronger than Raiya thought. "The world will not always be like this. One day the fighting will end and the last Heartless will be slain." The samurai comments simply in a grim tone. Of course it will. In death, one finally can quit fighting.Oh my, a black mage has joined the crowd. Hrm. That manner of speech is oddly familiar.....but from where?

Nagetta has posed:
Was that man nearly naked? It might be a good thing she can't see better in the sunlight. Still she feels her cheeks turn red. Was that the heat or something else? She then sees the tall figure covered in darkness. She wonder how he does that, she might have to ask him sometime. She waves back at Raiya, it was good to see a familiar face even if they barely had a chance to meet before.

Ivo Galvan has posed:
"..."

This pressure, soft yet firm. Could it be--?

"...wh..."

Those are definitely her legs, dangling off his side.

"..."

Ivo thinks of saying something -- and then thinks better of it.

If his powers of persuasion are worth nothing here, at the very least he can make himself useful by serving as Quistis's seat. That's just chivalry. Right? Right. As long as Raiya isn't looking at him down here-- good, she's enraptured by the fight, as hoped and anticipated. Well, as long as no one he knows sees him, then--

"N... Nagetta?"

If there is any saving grace for Ivo Galvan here, it is that Sabin in a speedo is even more eye-catching than a young man getting sat on by a woman in a bikini in public. So, okay, maybe he looks a little less cool than he did in Luca, helping everyone out and giving them directions. This too is a valuable service, right? Right. At long as nobody /else/ he knows shows up--

Eyes widening, still on his hands and knees, Ivo's gaze swivels up to Jack Skellington, whose voice and manner are for him unmistakable. "You?" he manages hoarsely. "Here? What... why...?"

Oh, /forget it/.

"Come to watch the match?" he ends up saying, conversationally.

Maybe he could get used to this getting-sat-on thing.

W-- wait-- that's not--

Sabin Rene Figaro has posed:
Quick, Sabin thinks to himself as the disciple of Zangan weaves her way around his strikes. And a good eye, too - she's seeing everything he's throwing at her, and is already moving to evade or block or slip aside as he moves into the next strike. She's reading his attacks from the movement of his body, his breathing, his chi. The big man's grin widens. Well, then. A real challenge.

He lets out a breath as his flurry subsides, then begins withdrawing in the face of Tifa's attacks, his hands spread wide in front of his body. The quick three-punch combination is met with a series of blocks, Tifa's gauntlets slapping into his calloused hands one after the other. Quick but not too strong, Sabin reasons. A flower, then, not a---

The kick snaps the big man's chin backward, and the prince of Figaro sees stars dance in front of his eyes. "Well," he rumbles, rubbing his chin with the back of his hand. "That was a nice kick. Let's see if you like mine as much." Sabin explodes forward again, his tree-trunk leg scything up in a punishing blow aimed toward Tifa's head...one that never lands. The leg comes down, planting, and Sabin's body slips in around behind Tifa's, sand spraying up behind him as his arms snake down toward Tifa's waist, his back already arching into a reverse...

Quistis Trepe has posed:

Quistis takes a big ol sip from her drink, feeling the liquor - at least she hopes there's liquor in it, because she's going to operate on that assumption, especially at those prices. She answers Sarafina, "Hm. I'll take that wager. I'll back Sabin, of course."

She shifts herself a little bit, adjusting her position on Ivo's back and getting comfortable. She hadn't expected that trick to work. She could, she thinks, get used to this. Then she looks up...

At a spindly skeleton. She blanches visibly, her back tensing, as do her legs and bottom. Despite this, the creature seems amiable. "Good afternoon," she tells him. "Please, ah... Enjoy the match. You're going to have an excellent vantage point, I think." Given his height.

Then her attention turns back towards the match, as it seems that THE SUPLEX is incoming.

She tells Avira, "I'll be honestly surprised if what's her name can pull this off. That said, Sabin may be specialized to fight beasts, not human foes..."

Sarafina Carenze has posed:
Dear god--that man is just skin and bones!

In fact--just bones!

As Sarafina turns to see this new presence, Jack Skellington's keen FEAR SENSORS can tell him in great detail of Sarafina's reactions.

The first reaction--notable from a sharp unnatural intake of breath and a sudden increase of heart rate--indicates to Mr. Skellington that Sarafina is STARTLED by his appearance. She did not expect his presence and his presence was alarming when it came!

The fear level doesn't get into shriek territory--but of course with an appearance like hers, perhaps she is more accustomed to DOING the scaring--but the unsettled vibe she presents doesn't quite dissipitate. It takes her a few moments to recover from the 'compliments' but they do not seem to have the sort of effect one typically has while complimented, her face is turning red--perhaps she is about to BREATHE FIRE?! OR WORSE?!?! WHAT'S THIS!

"Welcome sir, to Costa Del Sol."

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart shows off more of her anticipation skills, quite the show for the cheering crowd. As the muscle-builder's legs reels back to strike at her, the only thing that is left in Sabin's visible range is the long fish-tailed hair of the barmaid, as she ducked under the attack, legs spread but still standing atop them widely, with her torso parallel to the ground, arms stretched back and upward for balance. From that position, she springs forward instead, an elegant forward flip as she gets out of close range, right as Sabin's powerful arms try to wrap around her from behind like that.

Her feet barely had time to touch the ground that she jumps backward, straight at Sabin. She flies at him low, sliding between his legs as she kicks his legs apart, attempting to break his balance, as she quickly moves behind him, returning the favor of the supply with her own version of it. The slender arms grab around the muscle-man, and attempts a hefty lift, a feat that doesn't seem to be quite possible with a body like hers normally.

Raiya Fujihara has posed:
Raiya Fujihara's eyes have to dart back and forth to keep up with the frantic tempo of the match before her. They both seem to have considerable speed to them, but Tifa seems to be quicker. It is good that she is not a well-known enemy of ShinRa. Who knows where their eyes and ears may be? The samurai would not be surprised if there was a Turk somewhere in this very crowd.

A thought then occurs to the swordswoman: Where did Ivo go? It does it take long for her find him in his somewhat humilating position. Raiya walks over and crouches down near the front speaking end of Quistis' new chair, her sheathed sword digging into the ground slightly. "Enjoying yourself?" asks Raiya dryly with a smirk.

Avira has posed:
It's very easy, Avira discovers, to not keep track of how much drink was left while watching this fight. Her current one seems to be disappearing a little too quickly for her tastes and she tries to force herself to slow down a little. Only a third of the drink remains when the super tall black mage bumps into her.

A small grunt escapes her and she looks up...and up, and UP at Jack. Here she thought Sabin was tall, but this guy was easily even taller. "It's...n..." she trails off, trying to squint at this guy's face, which she can sort of make out because she's so much shorter. "...completely....desensitized..." Despite that, Avira sidesteps away from this guy, clearly unnerved.

At least Quistis is just as unnerved. Avira feels a little better at that. "-yeah, just don't stand in front of me, please." she laughs.

As for the fight, Avira taps a chin, "That woman looks like she might have an agility advantage here, though. If she can keep ahead of his punches and do more damage like -that-, I think she's got this."

She actually takes note of Raiya now, which again puts her on edge since Avira recalls them not parting on such good terms when they'd last met. "...we can only hope. But if it stays this way, well..." Her free hand reaches up to touch the side of her cheek where one of her recent-looking scars rests, "...then we just gotta move on."

Sabin Rene Figaro has posed:
Damn, Sabin thinks as Tifa slides through his legs. He /knew he should have taken the swimsuit off. He could have grabbed her.

Instead, the barmaid's legs thunder into his calves, spoiling his balance, and the big martial artist finds himself gripped in a version of the same move he just tried to pull on Tifa, his head and shoulders driven hard into the sand.

Well, he thinks to himself. This is embarassing.

Fists clench as Sabin's chi surges, and for an instant the sand begins to steam. He quickly reconsiders his choice of Blitz - fire would be ill-advised, after all, what with the crowd surrounding him - and calls forth the air instead. A blast of wind rips out from the body of the prince of Figaro, /tightly/ controlled, his limbs windmilling around his body as he springs out of the surf. Sabin lands back down in a crouch, the whirlwind dying around him, and he inhales deeply, centering his chi as he sucks in air.

And then he simply seems to vanish, gone with nothing more than a whisper.

Tifa, however - Tifa will be able to see him, streaking forward and then around her in a series of blindingly fast combinations, feet and fists moving faster than most eyes could follow, the big man moving more quickly than a man of his bulk should be able to. He keeps it up for a solid eight seconds before he rolls away from her, gasping for air, muscles burning as his chest and shoulders heave.

Nagetta has posed:
"Hello again, Ivo..." Nagetta still sounds a bit uneasy about the man in the speedo. At least until she gets a better look at the skeletal man. Flashbacks from her childhood suddenly hit her as she screams. The lamia quickly slithers across the beach as she tries to find somewhere to hide from him. Skeletons were never a good thing.

Jack Skellington has posed:
Watching the match, standing beside all else, the Pumpkin King surveys all that he scares. Well, that too is a lie. He does not need to see it for something to be scared by him. As Ivo barely manages out a few uncertain, pointed, fragments of questions. "Me! Here, because... it's so very alive!" It's a simple answer to a difficult question, Jack setting a boney hand on Ivo's shoulder. To help him /cam down/. "Oh no, but it's most entertaining. Gruesome, violent... I had no idea some of you were into such things! It's wonderous!" He exclaims, good naturedly.

"I certainly shall do so, miss." Jack exclaims, bowing forwards, hand retreating from Ivo to rest before his own chest. The hat stays on, fortunately. "Yes, I imagine I shall!" Just his /presence/ instills such fright! There's a bit of tingling pride that comes with hardened warriors growing stiff just at his arrival.

In particular, Sarafina draws his gaze, hat pushed back so she can easily see his eyes, focused on hers. Both sets. Or lack there of. He even leans forwards, the red face a bit startling. "Ah, Costa Del Sol? What an interesting name. What does it mean? How peculiar that it be named something like that... and your face changes colors as well? You must be /quite/ frightening!"

It's not pale white, so it must be part of the monster in her! But the hat is placed carefully over his head once more as he nods to Avira, "I wouldn't think of it! That would be quite rude." A good natured monster, he is. Until he hears the scream. "Oh! That one was /wonderful/! Positively perfect. The fear mingling in your voice, the shuddering of your body! Miss... Lamia?" Jack's gaze becomes a surprised one.

he scratches his boney head, pondering. "Another monster, so fearful?"

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
For all of the evasion ability she displayed, she also knows when she can't do so as easily. The wind blades, she could have dodged, but taking her hands off Sabin for a second could prove dangerous there. Even if she did not take her eyes off him, he still disapeared entirely for all of that time, getting struck from invisible fists from every direction. She reels back after the assaults...

Sabin might realize that during that ttack, even if she couldn't see him, she apparently could feel him. And the mark of a gloved fist left an imprint against Sabin's shoulder.

The barmaid wipes her mouth a bit with her glove, with as mirk. She is aware that even during that tornado of an attack, she managed to trade a blow with him. Even if she couldn't defend from it, she stayed on the offense doing so. She holds her stomach for an instant, and then stands up, charging up her power again, you can almost see the aura around her, before rushing in for another strong looking uppercut. The same she used during the flurry, now seen in its full motion. She knows how to use all of her weight transfer, despite the lighter bodyt han Sabin, she seems to know how to use it fully.

Ivo Galvan has posed:
Wh-- whoa-- he can feel her moving on top of him--

Hang in there, Ivo!!

A-and now she's tensing up-- focus on something else, quick!

"The lady's speed is magnificent," he says far more casually than he feels to his rider as Quistis wriggles around a bit, seems to have already recovered his, uh, whatever most closely approximates dignity when you're being sat on, "yet you seem confident in this 'Sabin'. As a non-bettor, may I ask why, Miss...?"

He'll be damned if he doesn't even get her name after all this.

"Oh, hey there, Raiya," he continues casually, nodding blithely up at the lady samurai who has tragically taken notice of his current pathetic straits, at this point entirely nonchalant about this catastrophic conclusion. "Not at all, I assure you. On the contrary, this is all part of my knightly training. Sometimes I moonlight as a coathanger. You never had to serve as a table in samurai school?" If only Ivo had been to Wutai before. Then maybe he could make a highly inadvisable naked sushi joke.

But really, could it get any worse than this?

Silently, he reminds himself never to think or say that.

For example, Nagetta could have commented on his predicament Instead, the knight-errant swiftly realizes that he now has /two/ saving graces: first, that Sabin in a speedo is distracting, and second, that this genial giant skeleton is arguably eight times /more/ distracting. As she screams and runs away, he's almost grateful to Jack -- though he can't help but feel a bit sorry for the poor lamia. Almost as sorry as he feels for himself, when Jack decides to lay bony hand upon him, which he probably has to lean down a bit to do. "Well," he murmurs in reply, briefly glancing upward at the woman atop him again, "it turns out I'm into more 'things' than I ever knew."

"Oh." Whether or not Quistis responds to his original query, Ivo soon witnesses Sabin's overwhelming power for himself. "Yes... now I understand." Well, not that he's surprised.

Quistis Trepe has posed:

Quistis repeats to herself several times that these are other worlds, and foreigners aren't to be despised. Look at Sarafina, who's a gargoyle, she tells herself, and perfectly nice and pleasant.

She glances over at this new person approaching, nodding silently to her without making any move to get up, even as she takes another sip from her drink. "Yes... It's becoming clear to you," she says, before pausing.

Without saying anything, she unfastens her hip pack and draws out the whip from it. She does not lift it, merely letting the wrapped twined leather sit on her knee as she keeps her attention up towards the fighters - especially when Tifa launches Sabin upwards with terrifying force.

She then glances towards Ivo in a sideways fashion, then down towards the knee where the whip is sitting, back towards him, and /then/ back towards the action, all without saying anything.

She does say, "Ah, Mr..." She seems to be addressing Jack. "You're certainly an unusual person. But I suppose you probably think the same of us...? Forgive me, I'm refereeing the match, so I have to keep my eyes on the action." And not look at a towering skeletonman.

Sarafina Carenze has posed:
Sarafina also suspects Tifa will fall before Sabin. It's an underdog bet, but that speed--if she relies on it, she might actually win. Especially if Sabin doesn't take Tifa seriously--but Sarafina's experience with Sabin suggests that he won't take her 'unseriously' for too long if it at all becomes apparent.

"I have no idea." Sarafina admits to the skellington. He seems amiable, as noted by Quistis, but that doesn't mean that Sarafina is entirely at ease. She just keeps herself coolheaded. She'd have to, after all--hot heads tend to explode in the Baron Air Force.

Sarafina would be bothered by the lamia too but honestly--look at that hat and scarf. And not calling her disgusting. Probably okay. P...robably.

Of course the moment Sarafina manages to convince herself this, she starts screaming.

"Perhaps I shouldw calm her down." She follows after Nagetta.

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart says, "I used Haste (Level 0 buff) and Charge up (level 0 buff) along with an attack, and both of my buffs are showing as 0 rounds. I'm guessing that its because of the attack?""

Sabin Rene Figaro has posed:
Sabin breathes.

The body he lives inside reports back to him as he does. His soft tissue (what little of it there is) is aching, bruises forming as blood swells up from where Tifa has struck him. His muscles are in oxygen debt, slowly dwindling as he fills his lungs with oxygen, his heart pounding in his chest.

Sabin breathes.

His spirit rages. The fountain of chi welling up inside the body of the prince of Figaro has been squeezed down to a trickle, and the effort of containing his power to limits that are safe, containable is a constant drain on his focus, attention that could be better spent elsewhere.

Sabin breathes. And Tifa punches.

The impact lifts the big man into the sky, and Sabin does not resist it as he sails upward. The chi, the chakra of all living things is tied to certain of the elements flowing through the world, and the chi of Sabin is no different. Rolling dunes and sweeping gusts flow through his soul.

Air and Fire. In the sky over Costa Del Sol, he is immersed in both.

Sabin breathes, filling his body with the energy of the world, letting it invigorate him. He slowly begins to fall back down toward the earth, his eyes blazing as he goes. This spar is far from over.

Nagetta has posed:
Nagetta's wielding a beach umbrella she found as a makeshift spear. The owner of the beach umbrella didn't complain, namely because he ran off when he saw the fleeing lamia. Still the fact she's using the umbrella to keep the sun out of her eyes, limits how threatening she look. She notices Sarafina approaching her. She doesn't seem phased by the woman's odd wings. "Why aren't you running...there's a skeleton here and he's going to kill us all." The girl's coiled up hoping the skeleton can't see her from under the umbrella.

Raiya Fujihara has posed:
Crouching there next to Quistis' table, Raiya flashes a grin at Ivo. She is just about to say something to him when a scream cuts through the air. Instinctively, the samurai quickly stands and faces the direction of the quickly fleeing Naga. Seeing that there is no immediate threat, Raiya removes her hand from the hilt of her katana and tilts her hat down over her eyes once more.

The blonde swordswoman now leaves Ivo to his fate and rejoins the bulk of the crowd. Oh the black mages is really that verbose and extremely flexible skeleton man from before? Nagetta's words quickly confirm that this being was the source of her fright. Well at least Jack is scaring things that are adults now instead of children. But then again, was Nagetta an 'adult' of her species? Hmmm.

But then something briefly blocks the sun from Raiya's view. The samurai notices this and looks up. Eh? Its that blonde guy in a speedo? What is he doing way up there? Could Tifa had launched him there? Raiya looks to the brunette martial artist with a faint grin. It is too bad she missed that attack.

Jack Skellington has posed:
At the sudden disappearance of Naga/Lamia, Jack's attention is drawn to Quistis, who addresses him. "Ah... Yes! Jack Skellington!" He remarks, "A pleasure to make your acquaintance." He remarks, but pauses to answer the rest. "Unusual? Oh, I wouldn't think so. No, you're not unusual either! Nothing is usual here, just what they are. Different, yes different! Everyone is different and it's oh so /wonderful/!" He exclaims, smiling down. The hat really only seems to prevent the locals from freaking out immediately.

It's easy enough to see up close, now, and see that he's quite blank under the hat, blank gaze and ... moving, emotionfilled skull.

"It's very much alright. I wouldn't want to interrupt your duties! They're certainly putting on a show, as well!"

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart is obviously taking the fight seriously, even if its a spar. No reason to go easy on someone either, that's very disrespectful of them when you do so. Going easy on someone means you don't respect their power, that you underestimate them. Striking with all you have is the true way of martial artists after all, and being (mostly) non-lethal means they get to live to talk about it the next day too. Well its entirely possible to kill someone, but you'd pretty much need to purposely strike where it counts. And the two seem to have been avoiding those quite admirably too, despite the showing off.

But Tifa wants to bring the fight to an end as well, before her opponent decides to pull another trick on her. A second is all she needs to assess the situation. First, Sabin is airborned. Secondly, he's apparently tired enough to resort to healing instead of going on the offensive. That's all she needs to work up the next attack.

The attack comes in two parts. In the first part, Tifa moves up to the skies, appearing next to Sabin suddenly, practically a flash step, as she jumps up, and as she goes past him, her gloved hand suddenly grips the spiky hair, and unceremonously throws Sabin toward the ground hard. Should Sabin can't control the fall, he'll likely make a small crater of his landing.

For the second part, Tifa lands down near where Sabin has crash landed, a yellow energy ball in hand. As soon as she touches ground, the gloved fist riases up behind her, and then DRIVES through Sabin, skidding to a stop on the other side of him while releasing an explosive energy where she hit. And yet, that's not even the end of the attack either.

The last part comes as soon as she runs past Sabin from the first drive, her left arm sticking out to grab the nearby palm tree, using it to vault herself 180 degrees around it... her right fist already glowing with the same yellow energies again, rushing back towar Sabin on the same momentum for another explosive driveby. Oh, yeah, if any of those manage to strike true, it might hurt.

Quistis Trepe has posed:

"I'm Quistis Trepe, from SeeD," Quistis says to the skeletonman, even as her attention stays focused on Tifa's sudden acceleration of movement.

"They're doing an exhibition - hold on -" She straightens up, which may or may not give Ivo the invisible chance to flee off screen.

Avira has posed:
Avira, who has been silent and both recomposing herself and trying to keep an eye on this spectacular battle of martial arts, peers up at Jack again, "Pleased to meet you." she offers pleasantly, though unable to match the rather spectacular cheer of the tall and thin skeleton man.

Yes, skeleton man. Avira actually cranes upwards to get a better look. Seeing those empty, dark eyes makes her want to reach out with a finger and try to poke one of the sockets as if to test it. Despite the now two drinks inside her, she manages to restrain herself. "I know this is going to be a rude question, Mr. Skellington, but...what race are you?" A question she's been asking a /lot/ lately.

At that point, she notices Ivo is gone, and pouts a little. "Damn, that guy owed me a drink." Next time, Ivo of the /Shard Seekers/ will not get away.

Sarafina Carenze has posed:
"The same could be said about you." Sarafina says, before chuckling. "Or me I suppose, though I am unaccustomed to it." She looks Nagetta over for a few moments as if to double check that she's not a bloodthirsty monster but it seems evident that--well--she's scared of the Skeleton Man--she doesn't anticipate trouble.

"Still." She says. "He doesn't seem to be intent on causing any trouble. If he does try to harm anybody here, I will intercede." She doesn't, in her current clothes, look like a knight--but she speaks like one.

"Still, I am stronger than I look." She adds. "Though I admit I am presently unarmed." She doesn't seem terribly worried about that though.

Nagetta has posed:
"I guess, I've had people thinking the same of me." Nagetta suddenly realizes. She can sympthize with it. "Maybe I did get a bit carried away. All of the other skeletons, I've before weren't very friendly though." It was mostly survival instinct. "The way you talk is kind of familiar..." She suddenly realizes.

Sabin Rene Figaro has posed:
Tifa grabs Sabin by the head and hurls him down to the beach, the prince of Figaro bouncing up, sand blasting out from his body where he hits in the surf.

Earth and Water.

The big man begins pushing himself upward, a trickle of blood seeping from his lips, staining his teeth. He barely gets his arms up as Tifa streaks in, blasting him in the body with a blazing uppercut, sending him sailing back into the skies.

Fire and Air.

The final blow slams into the big man's spine, and even his unnatural size and stamina is insufficient to block out the pain of a strike that sends him speeding back down toward the beach. One eye opens a crack, then widens as Sabin sees he is falling far too close to the crowd for his liking or their safety - he hurriedly lifts his left hand and fires another blast of air off to one side, angling his trajectory back down into the sea, a plume of ocean spray blasting upward from where he lands. The water falls. The waves continue, the long slow rolling of the tides going on and on and on.

Spiritual pressure rips out, the waters parting. A massive figure slowly, carefully, pushes himself upward, air and sand blasting away from his body as a blazing aura of power envelops him. He looks upward, and his anger is like a physical thing, pulsing outward from his body as he focuses his anger on its source. "That," he says, his voice shaking with chi, "Was a little much for a spar." He crouches, and then blazes upward, his angry scream echoing across the seas as he drives his foot toward Tifa's belly, then lifts his arms, clasping his hands together and driving them down toward her back in a thunderous blow, trying to drive her into the crater he himself just vacated. Away from people. His hands reach upward, white light flowing together in his palms as his chakra soars.

Fire. Water. Earth. Water.

Sabin.

A beam of incandescent light rips across the skies, dropping down toward Tifa as though thrown from the hands of an angry god.

Jack Skellington has posed:
"Oh, from a seed? Or does it stand for something?" Jack must ask, especially watching up now as Tifa lays into the glowing man. Quite exciting! Though a voice piping up to offer a nice meeting is certainlly enough to grab his attention!

"Oh, as am I to meet all of you!" The response is quite genuine, as is the sight of the lack of eyes, and skin, and much of everything that isn't bones and his very slick clothing, less ragged than usual. For a moment, he must think. "I would imagine a skeleton." Jack responds, matter-of-factly, "I also go by the Pumpkin King, if you would prefer... they've given me many names beyond my own!" He touts, but does not quite share.

"But... is that the answer you wanted? I apologize if it isn't." He leans a bit down to Avira, because otherwise it's quite a distance to level with her! "Owe you a drink? Why, that's terrible of him!" How cruel, leaving her unwasted! A fiend if he ever could call one, one.

Sarafina Carenze has posed:
"You are the first friendly lamia I have met, though I'll freely admit--I haven't made a habit of seeking them out." Sarafina says, glancing over to the fight. "Are you here by yourself?" She asks. If she's a lamia, that means she was--hatched, right? hum.

She has to watch herself. That hat is making it hard to remain objective. Don't succumb to the hat, Sarafina.

"The way I talk?" Sarafina asks. "Ah--well--I used to serve the nation of Baron, if you had been there, perhaps my accent--or perhaps it is simply--well, after a while, I suppose one ends up talking like a soldier even in casual company."

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
A foot coming toward her stomach, while all of the elements are crashing down upon her. That would be terribly scary to any onlooker, and most likely hellishly painful should it connect.

Except that the kick meets with air. The agile barmaid finishing up her own attacks, manages to vault herself out of the way. How exactly? When Sabin sticks his foot out, she gives a dual handed slap on the outstretched leg, and uses the momentum to vault herself up, over his head. The thunderous arm drive he was planning barely misses her on the down swing, and then light beam from the heavens narrowly misses her as well, as she rolls unto herself, sommersaulting out of the way and landing behind Sabin.

Well, she's behind him. What to do next? How about his favorite again, maybe calm him down some after expanding all that chi into that amazingly flashy attack. She quickly turns before he takes position again, another combination of kicking his legs open to disrupt his balance followed by a strong lift, driving him back down in a backward arc of her body.

Nagetta has posed:
"Baron...you're from Baron? My father's from there too. That's where I'm trying to get to." This could work well for Nagetta. "Yes, I'm here alone. We were seperated when Eblan was attacked." She nods in agreement. Her mind seems to be have taken off of Jack for the moment. Still she's clinching the umbrella quite tightly.

Raiya Fujihara has posed:
Now that was impressive. Such display of martial prowess are sure to start attracting the wrong kinds of attention. Raiya does not need to let anyone in ShinRa or Wutai know that she is still kicking around. And so, the samurai silently excuses herself and starts wandering off once more. The warrior's katana sways with her movements, but at least for one day; there was no need to draw it.

Quistis Trepe has posed:

"Oh, I - it's just a name," Quistis answers Jack. "I'm really not sure why it was chosen. It's spelled with the last letter capitalized, if you're writing it out in an alphabet anyway." Some places, mysteriously, use weird ideograms that everyone understands.

Avira has posed:
This does not help Avira's urge to poke him in the eyesocket to confirm at all, no siree! "I like Pumpkin King." Avira admits, separating that from a regular skeleton which normally isn't animate and cheerful. Did 'undead' really count as a race? An ex-race maybe... "No, that's exactly what I was looking for. I gotta keep all this stuff straight. There's just so much lately, you know?"

Unable to help herself, she laughs, and it does sound slightly nervous because Jack is still pretty creepy, especially with the looming. "I bet I'll see him some other time in the future. He'll make good on his promise then." Her eyes narrow dangerously.

It's not enough to entirely distract her from the impressive duel though. When Tifa lands a very painful-looking hit, the fact that Sabin is now bleeding a little does not go unnoticed. In fact, the giant of a man looked rather /angry/ after that particular strike. "...these two are incredible..." she says wistfully.

Sabin Rene Figaro has posed:
Sabin - his body ablaze with chi, the outpouring of his essence - sees the attack coming. He could do any of a dozen things at this point, with full access to his power. He could wipe this girl off the beach, send gale-force winds against her, fuse the sands of Costa del Sol to glass with elemental fire.

He does none of these things.

The kick slams into his knees, and he flexes them to absorb the impact, which makes him sway rather than staggers him as before. When Tifa grabs him (explode your aura, or simply squeeze your arms, shatter her elbows), he flows backward as intended, his head driving down toward the sand again. A thundering impact echoes out, sand blasting upward. As it subsides, Sabin is still in Tifa's grip, his aura just as intense...but his left arm is extended down, palm against the sand, holding his body up in a flawlessly balanced handstand. His eyes narrow, and he lets out a breath.

So many options.

"Enough," he says, and the aura fades away like a cloud passing away from the sun. The martial artist stays there for a long moment, frowning up at Tifa, his anger pulsing outward. Gradually, he chokes it down, draining it away. And finally, he smiles, his grin like the sun coming up. "You're pretty good at this," he says pleasantly. "Control needs work, though."

Sarafina Carenze has posed:
Oh--no wonder the skeleton is so poised, he's a King. Even Monster Kings would have to be polite and have proper poise. She feels troubled now--since she was rather disrespectful to the Pumpkin King, but she supposes if he's a King he probably isn't thinking much of it anyway.

BARON ATTACKED EBLAN TOO!?

Sarafina seems startled by this. "What--how could Baron possibly--on so many fronts...?"

She knows the answer already. The Red Wings can make light of most defenses, the Heartless and Monsters too--


"I--know how to get back to Baron. I could take you--not right there, but close--" She's sort of a fugitive from Baron. "--but I would warn you... Baron is not as it once was."

then again if they're raising monsters as family now--but that's impossible, she'd have had to have been there earlier than Cecil's expulsion if she is calling this man 'father'.

"I imagine you must have been raised in secret, somehow--?" Sarafina frowns. "There would have at least been a report if there was a Lamia in the city. Who is your father? Perhaps I know him?"

Jack Skellington has posed:
"Oh, so it is simply a name?" How underwhelming. But he would find out, exactly why it was named as such. "I'm sure there's more to it somewhere!"

Oh, he's not quite a king! It's simply in the name! Even if he's treated like one. "Yes, there's so very much!" He agrees with Avira, a finger poking his head through the mage hat. "I find it quite splendid. Every place I look, there's something new! I have a feeling, as well, he's in for a wonderous little scare when he meets you next!" He adds, before turning his attention back to the fight.

And then it ends.

"Bravo, Bravo!" The sound of clapping, Jack raising his hands to clap, the boney sound echoing as the hat is knocked off his head. That might scatter a few crowds rather... quickly. He even steps forwards. he is not an envoy of the Doom Train, either, Sabin. "I'd ask for an encore, but you both must be terribly exhausted!"

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart flips back to her feet after the piledriver, moving back into a defensive pose, ready to take on the next strike.. Those red eyes are focused on every movement, obviously trained in this manner, her master must be impressive to bring a girl to that level of focus really.

But yet, the next strike never comes. She sees Sabin swallowing back the last bit of agressiveness he had from the fight... and then the barmaid collapses to her knees in the sand, a bit shakingly now. Yeah, despite everything she's still a girl, and when she lets the adrenaline fade out, her legs give out "That was sooooooo scary!" She falls down forward, holding herself on her arms still, as she now pants quite deeply and noisily even. "You're really strong, I thought I'd lose conciousness on that attack before."

Nagetta has posed:
"I don't think it was Baron that attacked Eblan. There were monsters that showed up...not humans." Nagetta explains to her. "Baron's in trouble too? Oh no, if father went back there..." She sounds quite worried about that. "We lived in Eblan not Baron, so I'm not sure. You might of known him back when he lived there. His name is Percival." Maybe she was familiar with him. He didn't remember him saying anything about a woman with wings, she's sure she would remember it.

Sabin Rene Figaro has posed:
Sabin lets out another breath and then slowly drops back down to his feet, his expression returning to his normal, pleasant one, though something lingers behind his eyes. "You were trained well," he compliments Tifa. "I apologize for any slight you may have taken from my comments about your master. Zangan, wasn't it?" Sabin asks, smiling as he extends a hand downward and bends over. "I would like to meet him some time."

It is at this point that onlookers may realize that, at some point during the exchange, the speedos of the prince of Figaro proved insufficient to the task.

It is at this point that they may also learn that a martial artist truly does train /every/ part of his body.

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
And that's when a loud KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA is heard. When we look back at the beach, there's a Sabin-shaped crater in the wall that leads back up to the street, and a a trail of cloud where the barmaid ran away to.

Sarafina Carenze has posed:
"...You might be surprised by that, madame." Sarafina says. "But I will not press the matter too strongly. What is of upmost importance is that your father be found and you returned to him. Or your father returned to you, as the case may be."

If he was Eblan, he may have been captured or killed, Sarafina thinks. "Though if he is still at Eblan, I no longer know how to find it." She mururs.

Percival, she thinks. "hmm..... I must be mistaken, as I haven't heard the name in years--but your father wouldn't happen to be a Dragoon, would he?"

Nagetta has posed:
"Yes, he is. Well, the last time I saw him was when Eblan was attacked. I'm not sure if he's still there. Especially if the city got destroyed. I don't know what to do! The cave I'm from is full of furious monsters and Baron isn't safe either..." Nagetta sounds rather upset, having no further leads to go on.

Sarafina Carenze has posed:
Sarafina rubs the back of her neck awkwardly. "well--" She says. "I am limited in my capacity to help, but if you ever need a place to stay, I still have a shi, though that comes with its own element of danger. If you need transport, I can certainly provide that. If you desire a search, well, I can do that too but I am unsure where to begin--which is the rub, I am afraid."

She smiles. "But he is surely well. A man does not become a dragoon without being resourceful! And if memory serves, he was quite skilled."

Nagetta has posed:
"Well, this nice man named Zeke offered to let me join his crew...still it couldn't hurt to have other choices right?" Nagetta figures it might be best to wait a bit to decide. "You have your own ship too?" She looks a bit impressed by that. "I wouldn't want to trouble you too much...well is there anywhere besides Baron you know how to get too?" That might be a good place to start.

Sarafina Carenze has posed:
"Ah--Zeke." Sarafina remembers that man. "Well, I can get here, to Wutai, Baron, Junon, Luca, and Balamb right now. I will be sure to continue exploring. I am in fact looking for a cartographer to help map the airways, that would certainly help with getting around without getting lost with the new landmarks and continents--and the like."

She seems unusually nice, actually--Sarafina thinks. She's surprised. Even a 'kind' Lamia, she'd expect to have more bite.

Nagetta has posed:
"Well, I've been to Luca, that place is nice. But father wasn't there. Well, we can't go to Baron and I don't know know any of those other places. Well, I don't really know much about drawing maps." Nagetta sounds a bit confused with all those choices. "I'm not sure who to go with now..."

Sarafina Carenze has posed:
"hmm. My suggestion?" Sarafina says. "He is probably searching for you too. As such--you should try to find a place he would look. Perhaps a shared location that you both have good memories of." She shakes her head. "Sadly, that's about the gist of what I can truly suggest in good conscience."

Nagetta has posed:
"We didn't really go that many places besides Eblan...I think he was trying to protect me. Not everyone is nice as you are..." Nagetta frowns a bit at that. "I'm still considered a monster after all." There's no hiding what she really is. "I think he said something about visiting Troia once..."

Sarafina Carenze has posed:
"Nice?" Sarafina says. "Mm... Well Troia--that's certainly a place to visit. I would have to find it again, but I will recognize it if I see it! Tell you what--I will keep a look out for him, and try to find Troia. If I find it--I will send word to you through your--do you have a linkshell?"

She smiles faintly. "That's reasonable, though. In all honesty, while I don't think I would have attacked you, my instinct was to see you as such." She doesn't mind admitting this. "However, getting to know you--" She shakes her head. "Honestly to see you as a monster would be ridiculous. If you are prepared for bad initial reactions, you will do just fine, in the end."

Nagetta has posed:
"Thank you...what's a linkshell?" Nagetta's not really that familiar with technology. "Well, I do my best to behave like a human, though it's hard at times. Sometimes, I just want to bite people..." She admits that she does have some self-control issues. "I know it's not right, but..." As she much as she tries, she'll always be part snake.

Sarafina Carenze has posed:
Sarafina Carenze raises a hand, intending to rest it lightly on Nagetta's shoulder. She thinks of her own lost family--but not for too long. She knows she'd give into despair if she thought on it so long. Helping Nagetta, that is what will give her peace.

"Sometimes /I/ want to bite people too." She grins briefly. "I am Sarafina Carenze. What's yours?" She reaches into her pocket, withdrawing a spare linkshell--and holding it out to her. It's like a radio, but shelly!

Nagetta has posed:
"I'm Nagetta, it's a pleasure to meet you." She smiles brandishing her fangs a bit at that. She takes the linkshell, examining it curiously. "Really, you don't seem like the type. I mean the wings with eyes are kind of odd...but who am I to talk..." She looks down at her tail as says that.

Sarafina Carenze has posed:
"I did not always have them." Sarafina says. "--but suffice to say, they are partly why I am concerned about Baron's present state." She is unsure if she would have been able to keep her will--but if this young Lamia can persevere--she'll have to--if nothing else, to be as an example--even if not an entirely straight line of one.

"You have taught me much today." She says, stepping back and bowing her head. "I--do hope we meet again soon."

Nagetta has posed:
Nagetta figures it's best to not ask more about it, at least for now. "I see, well I certainly hope Father is alright. Thank you for your help." She's not quite sure what Sarafina exactly means about teaching her, but she's glad she can help. "Yes, I would like to talk again." She sounds a lot more relaxed now, when they first met. "I better get back to the ship before it leaves without me." The lamia suddenly realizes how long it has been.